This film retraces the birth of moving images before the advent of the cinematograph. “Yesterday I was in the kingdom of shadows. It is not life but its shadow, it is not movement but its spectrum. Born of the magic lantern and the dark room, it is the invention of the devil. In Brussels, Plateau invented the cartoon, whose sarabande would last for almost half a century. On the other side of the Atlantic, a certain Newbridge built the first animated photo projector. With the Hanscluss machine, this time the result was almost perfect. History, said the press, would use the invention. One night in Lyon, Louis Lumière dreamt of the perfect machine and built it. It would capture the slightest gestures, glances and perhaps the soul of the world. From then on, His Majesty the Film reigned supreme over the world of images. With him, the century was drawing to a close, and he had invented everything with truly diabolical skill.